Hello, readers! Man, did February just fly by or what? I guess that's normal for the shortest month of the year, eh? I'm not a much of a comedian, can you tell? And that's why I write dramatic stories :P Speaking of dramatic stories, I sort of gave you guys a pretty dramatic chapter! It's not as long as I hoped, but one of my longest chapters for this story :) The title pretty much says it all, but everything will be explained later. Enjoy... ;)

Chapter 25: The Reiki, the Power, and the Plan

Chihiro's POV

We were all ready for the attack. We didn't know what our plan was, exactly, but we did know that we would do whatever it took to stop the Dark Spirits. Kaede, Rin, and Ryo left for the bathhouse. I told them we would handle things from here. For once, Kaede actually listened to me without resisting; she obeyed what I was asking her to do. I guess she realized how much I trust her now.

For the rest of us, however, things weren't going to well. Yubaba was the best schemer I had ever known, so she had to build the plan from start to finish. She knew the perfect weakness for everyone and how to use it against them. The Dark Spirits had only one weakness: light. And that was our advantage over them.

"This water stone is more powerful than you all think," Yubaba said to all of us.

"I know, I made it." Kage said. He was still frozen to the wall, unable to break free, thanks to Kazuma. Yuki was standing by his side trying to find some way to break the ice. Yubaba and Zeniba couldn't find a way to free Kage. Kazuma's magic was strong, but the ice attack was harder to melt than we thought.

"Shouldn't we free Kage first? He has more knowledge on the water stone than you do." Yuki said. She was brushing Kage's dark, raven-colored hair, hoping to free him from the iciness he was most likely feeling. However, Yubaba didn't completely agree with Yuki. In fact, she was absolutely against her when it came to who was more powerful.

"Kage isn't Erikku or your mother or even me! So no, he doesn't have more knowledge on the water stone than I do." Yubaba returned to studying the water stone, leaving an angry Yuki to tend to her frozen Kage.

"So what is your plan then, Yubaba?" Granny asked. Yubaba's eyes grew wide. She may have been one of the most powerful spirits in the land, but she was completely ignorant about how the water stone would be used against the Dark Spirits.

"Um…well…I was thinking…" She started. Yubaba stared at the stone for what seemed like ages, and then threw her hands on the desk in defeat.

"Alright, dragon boy, what do you propose we do?" She said shamefully. It was hard for Yubaba to accept defeat.

"Well," Haku said, unsure about why Yubaba picked him, "I really don't know what-"

"Not you, the other dragon boy!" Yubaba screeched. Kage lifted his head and smiled at Yubaba. "You want my help now?" She was about to burst. Her temper was not something to play with, and Kage was testing her.

"Just stop them, Kage!" Yubaba shouted, "You did once before, so do it again!"

"It's not that easy! I had help! Only a human can do it!" The entire room went silent. A human? That seemed almost pointless to have a human use magic. I didn't doubt he was telling us the truth, but I couldn't see how a human could fix the problem.

"A human?" I repeated, "How is a human going to help us?"

"You're talking like a spirit, my girl," a voice said, "I never thought you were turn on your own kind that way." He was always there when we needed him, and even if we didn't he was always there.

"Erikku, not now," I said, putting my hand to my forehead. All that had happened in the last week was terrifying and was moving too fast. I didn't need him telling me what to do or turning what I said into a proverb.

"You just said a human couldn't help us, but I know of one who would be perfect for this situation." He gave me a smile, nodding towards me. I shook my head in reply. It couldn't be. Not me.

"No." I said plainly. I sat on the ground cross-legged next to Haku's feet. If I hadn't, I might have fallen to the ground. Without my magic I was vulnerable. If I didn't become a spirit again soon, there was great chance I could have died.

"Chihiro, lives are at risk." Haku reminded me, leaning down to my height and placing a hand on my shoulder. Like I didn't have enough to deal with already. I had almost been killed countless times in the last week and now I have to save not only one world from destruction, but two.

"You think I don't know that?" I shouted, "I not only have to protect myself in my vulnerable state, but I also have to protect the lives of everyone else! Do you know what kind of pressure that puts on me?" There was a great chance that the Dark Spirits could kill me, that they were already planning on how to. Turning me into a human was Kazuma's way for ending me. Now that I didn't know how to reverse the spell, I'm stuck in this state, growing older as the minutes go by. "I can't do this by myself."

"You won't have to," Kage said to me, "We'll be there right beside you. All you have to do is hold half of the water stone and recite a spell that I will teach you."

"What do you mean half?" I replied. Everyone looked to Kage for the answer. Yubaba, Zeniba, and Erikku, however, were in their own little world. . The three most powerful spirits were sitting in a triangular form, meditating. Their eyes were closed, but their voices were clearly heard, humming a tune I had never heard of. It was like their souls departed from their bodies and entered a whole other realm. They were gone from where we were. "Before you answer that, where are Zeniba, Yubaba, and Erikku?"

"What do you mean, they're right-" Haku stopped in midsentence. They were all starting to notice it, too

Erikku's POV

"No." She said. Chihiro never understood the idea of destiny. She was a troublesome child growing up, always getting what she wanted. She never thought of how lucky she was to have such wonderful parents who showered her with love. She was destined to live in a family who could offer her so much. They moved to the town with the Spirit Gate because it was supposed to happen. Chihiro's father was supposed to get a new job, they were supposed to take a shortcut, and she was supposed to have a curious mind that led her to the place she would never leave again. I wasn't taking no for an answer, not after everything I did for her.

"Yubaba, Zeniba," I whispered as the others were arguing over what Chihiro would do. "Let's go." We wouldn't be gone long, just long enough to talk over things without hearing the pestering voices of those who could never understand what it were like to be us. We sat in a triangular form, cross-legged. Our hands ran down our legs and our fingers curled at the end. We shut our eyes and concentrated on the place we always retreated to in certain times. It had been so long since we went there together as family.

In the blink of an eye, we were sent to our safe haven, a cloud nine as some would call it. It named the Reiki. Only Zeniba, Yubaba, and I were allowed to enter the Reiki because of the power we held. It was only used in certain times of danger, and this moment was a very dangerous time.

"Thank goodness, I thought they would never shut up!" Zeniba said. She wasn't allowed to yell or show anger. She had to show emotions with as little hatred as possible. The Reiki was a peaceful and serene environment, so we could only talk in a contented way. We sat a few feet away from each other, resting on clouds that surrounded the perimeter. Nothing could come in, and we could only leave when one agrees on it. This is the first time in over five thousand years that we all have come as one.

"Yes, and we need our own plan if we are to defeat the Dark Spirits." Yubaba said, "Chihiro thinks she knows everything, but she doesn't."

"That's right," I said to her, "I have that power."

"Only because you're the oldest, you know," she smirked, "If Zeniba and I came first we would have had the opportunity to have such a rare power."

"But I have it, and you settled for the bathhouse, and Zeniba settled for the golden seal."

"Which I lost," Yubaba added. She placed a hand to her forehead in distress. The Reiki would help with that. "Both I might add."

"You gave it to Chihiro and Haku," Zeniba reminded her, "Remember? It was going bankrupt so you-"

"How about we relive all my failures, too, Zeniba." Yubaba was becoming impatient and temperamental. "Now, can we go back to the Dark Spirits?"

"Yes," I agreed. I hated when my sisters fought. The fights started small, but as we grew more mature, magic became involved. When Yubaba was stuck with the worst gift of the three, she lost total connection with Zeniba and me. She never wanted to see our faces. She was seeking revenge.

But then Chihiro came, and she changed her ways. She made the evil side of her question what she was asking for. If Chihiro hadn't returned, I don't think the real Yubaba would have either.

"Erikku? What are you thinking? You already know what is to happen; can't we just use that as an advantage?" Even Zeniba was too ignorant to know how my power works. If I could, I would trade it for the golden seal in a heartbeat.

"It's not that simple," I replied, "I may know what is to come, but I cannot use that to help me win. I can nudge someone in the right direction, but that is it."

"Well, start nudging!" Yubaba said.

"It's not that simple!" I shouted. Anger. I had to channel my anger. I had to control myself. "I…I'm sorry. I just, I wish I didn't have this power." Gasps filled the air. It was as if the prophecy didn't exist to them at all.

"Erikku," Zeniba whispered, "why would you say a thing like that?"

"Because I won't have it for much longer," I replied, "You both know the prophecy; we will each give up our gifts to the next generation, who will give to the next, and so and so forth."

"Does that mean…you will…" Yubaba and Zeniba understood very well what the prophecy said. I was different from them, in many ways.

"Yes." I breathed a sigh of relief. The day I had longed for has finally come. I had waited generations for this day to come. "Now, back to the Dark Spirits…"

Chihiro's POV

"Ugh, are they ever going to come back?" Why was I being so impatient? They would come back when they were done. I didn't even know where they were, but I knew they weren't where the rest of us were. Their souls somehow transported to another realm, I figured. Fact was, the three most powerful spirits weren't where we needed them to be. And Kawazoe wouldn't shut up.

"How about you let me go and I'll find my own way? That'll teach me a lesson. Or maybe you could make me a slave in the bathhouse. You could steal my name if you want to! Or maybe-"

"Or maybe you could shut up and let me think!" I yelled at her. She was wrecking my train of thought with her constant talking.

"Wow, you and Kazuma are a lot more alike than you think," Kawazoe whispered. It was still audible, and it was insulting to be compared to someone as low as Kazuma. At least he wasn't our problem anymore, and neither was Osamu.

I was still questioning everything about Osamu. He said he was with us. From the start of the new bathhouse, he said he was our friend. He took care of Kaede when she was a child. Was that just a way to get close to her? Was it a way to tell Kazuma she would be the one to destroy me? I couldn't trust anyone anymore. I thought Osamu was my friend, but he turned out to be a fraud, just like Kawazoe and Kazuma.

"Hey, they're coming back," Haku said. Their eyes lit up and they lifted their heads in the air. They were all greeted with strange stares that were hiding a million questions.

"Um, hello everyone," Granny said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Long time no see," I replied, "Care to enlighten us on where you all went?"

"What are you talking about?" Yubaba said, "We've been here the whole-"

"Save it, Baba, she's not as dimwitted as you think she is." Erikku said to her. Baba? Was that a nickname for her? I never thought Yubaba would have had a nickname.

"I told you never to call me Baba again!" Yubaba shrieked, while all Erikku could do was laugh. They were obviously closer than just being the three most powerful spirits in the realm.

"Were you two ever…?" I began, but couldn't bring myself to say it. The idea seemed absurd.

"Are you mad, girl?" Yubaba shouted, "That's repulsive! It's incest, I tell you!"

"What?" Lin, Haku, and I said in shock. Kage and Yuki seemed to have understood what they were saying, but I was completely and utterly clueless. "Would someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Did you not think I was related to them in some way?" Erikku asked, "They're my sisters." I was frozen. I had only known Yubaba and Zeniba were twins. No one told me they had a brother, and no one told me it was Erikku. That must have been the reason Zeniba recommended we see him over every foreshadower in the Spirit World.

"You're their brother?" I had bigger issues than finding out they were all related, but I couldn't bring myself to think of anything else. Everything I was finding out was coming in all too fast.

"How about we discuss this later and focus on more important issues," Zeniba said. The fact that they were all related was baffling to me, but I let her continue anyway. We had more important issues to deal with. "We went to the Reiki to discuss our plans."

"The Reiki?" I asked. I had never heard of such a place. I hadn't heard of many places in the Spirit World. I only knew about the Aburaya, Swamp Bottom, and Erikku's Fortress. There was nowhere else I had to go to.

"The Reiki is a serene place for us to…evaluate things," Erikku explained, "We went to discuss what to do about the Dark Spirits."

"And?" I asked, "Please tell me it has nothing to do with me being a human again." Erikku walked up to me and placed both hands on my shoulders. So far, things didn't seem like they were going to turn out in my favor.

"I wish I could, Chihiro," Was his answer. I sighed, knowing I was about to face my toughest battle yet. Being human again meant I was vulnerable to any attack that came my way. One wrong move and it was the end. "Kage, when you defeated the Dark Spirits, who used the water stone?"

Kage was still frozen and I was afraid we wouldn't get him out. Erikku had enough of the games and with a wave of his hands, the ice shattered into a million pieces. Yuki ran to him and embraced him softly. "You couldn't have done that when you first came?" He asked in a paranoid tone.

"Why ruin the fun of watching you all struggle?" Erikku replied. I never saw him show any form of amusement in my life. He was changing, and I didn't understand it. I didn't understand a lot of things that had happened. "Now please, will you answer my question?"

"Yes, I had a human's help," Kage said, "She was young, much younger than Chihiro is now. She must have been a little over seven years old at the time."

"How did she do it?" Erikku asked.

"I already told everyone, she repeated a spell I taught her." Kage replied.

"So tell Chihiro the spell and then everything will be fine." Haku said. We thought it would be that simple, but lately everything was difficult to even understand. There was a catch.

"Well, not exactly…" Kage whispered.

"Then what?" I said in a paranoid tone, "What else is there?" I advanced closer to him, showing my anger towards the situation we had gotten ourselves into. Mainly the situation Kage and the weird siblings got me into.

"Well, as you use the water stone and recite the spell, you have to…how do I put this lightly…you have to kill the leader of the Dark Spirits."

"We did that already," I told him, "Kazuma is dead. He's not coming back."

"He's not their leader," Kage said. My face dropped. Kazuma seemed powerful enough to be their leader; I couldn't see anyone else being that cruel and powerful all at once. "This spirit gives Kazuma nightmares at night."

"So I recite the spell and then they're all gone?" I asked, hoping that was all it took. What was I thinking; anything involving the Spirit World was not a walk in the park. This was not going to be easy.

"That will rid the worlds of the Dark Spirits, but their leader is a whole different story." Kage informed me. "How am I supposed to kill him?" I asked blankly. Kage took a deep breath and sighed. I went from almost losing my parents to almost losing my life the second time I came to the Spirit World, and now I went from almost losing my daughter to almost losing my life a second time; nothing he said would be too hard for me to take.

"You have to rip out his heart," Kage said, "And crush it." My eyes opened wide. I had to crush his heart? How vile did they think I was? How could that little girl do it the time she had to? I needed to know more on that, as well.

"How did the girl do it?" I asked him. He stared at me shockingly.

"Wha…What did you say?"

"I'm asking you how the little girl was able to rip his heart out," I repeated. Kage began to scratch the back of his neck. He was avoiding the question. Why? "Kage, did you force a seven year old girl to do that?"

"Kage, is that true?" Yuki asked, disappointment written all over her face.

"No, I would never!" Kage shouted, "I mean, she wasn't forced to, but there really wasn't any other choice."

"Kage, what did you do?" I shouted even louder. I was becoming impatient, which was happening a lot lately. I couldn't help myself; he wasn't telling us the truth, and that was a problem.

"I didn't do anything! It was Yubaba!" It made sense. There was no need for an explanation. I knew exactly what that little girl was feeling. Her parents had eaten the food meant for the spirits, and they were punished. Yubaba gave her a job and took away her name.

"You mean that girl who wandered into my bathhouse almost a hundred years ago?" Yubaba questioned. Kage nodded, answering her. "Well if her parents weren't fools, she wouldn't have had to do anything."

"Yubaba!" Zeniba shouted, "Are you seriously saying you told her you wouldn't bring back her parents unless she killed him?"

"Can we just settle down and work this out like normal spirits?" Lin shouted. She was tired of all the fighting, as was I. So much was coming out at once, and it was hard for us all to take in. "Come on, what's done is done! We have to worry about what's right in front of us! We can't let them win because of our differences!"

"No, I actually like all the fighting," Kawazoe said, "It's entertaining." We gave her disgusted looks until Haku took her chains off. It shocked us all that he was letting her go. With her magic, there's no telling what she would do.

"Go." Was all he said. She didn't stand up right away, only afraid of what he was planning. I would be if I was her. He placed his right hand on her forehead and recited a dark spell. I have only seen him use it once before on Kaede…the night she returned from the Human World.

"Haku," I whispered. I couldn't believe he was doing it again. When the spell was completed, a small, golden orb of magic floated in Haku's hands. He had done it again; Haku took away Kawazoe's magic.

"Now, you may go." Kawazoe didn't take a second glance. She ran out of the room as fast as she could. She had no magic, which meant she was powerless.

"She'll warn the Dark Spirits, you know." Zeniba told us. Haku only turned around with a grin running across his face.

"Then I guess we better prepare ourselves."

So we have the Reiki, which I think is a form of yoga or something to do with that, the power, which Kawazoe lost, and the plan which is frightening Chihiro every minute they speak of it. This is most likely going to be a 30 chapter story, so I only have about 5 chapters left! :( I've been working on this story for almost a year now! It's sad to think it'll be over soon. Over the course of this fanfic, however, I have gotten many reviews and have loved hearing what you all have to say. (HINT: Review...Review...Review...)

Jess2709 - I updated as soon as I could, but thank you for reviewing! :)

Genie2130 - I know, I haven't updated in a while. Hopefully when I go on Spring Break I'll have more time :) Thanks for your reviews!

Vampireninja101 - Yeah, I know right? They've been fighting for so long I had to give them back to mother-daughter love :) Thanks for reviewing and hopefully I get the next chapter up soon!

Anabelle ;)